Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to a method selling goods or services by presenting samples at a customer's location and taking orders with a customer access combining a conventional vehicle on the public roads and an autonomous vehicle for final customer access.
Background Concerning the Need for the Current Invention
Products are widely sold one or the other of two broad methods; either selection from catalogs, internet pages or other descriptive information systems or by allowing a customer to inspect the products or related samples at a seller's location. Both of these methods have limitations.
Catalogs and on-line presentations can only describe the product in words and pictures and are limited in the way they can deliver the experience of the product. They cannot show the feel of a product or allow the customer to test the product. The customer is limited by the capabilities of the communication means employed.
Physical “brick and mortar” stores can give a much fuller presentation by showing the customer the actual product, samples or other physical presentation aids, but they require the customer to travel to the seller's location. The time and expense for this can be very limiting because customers are busy and may choose to visit a competitor on the basis of convenience.
The ideal situation for selling is to present products or samples to a potential customer at the customers preferred location which is typically inside the customer's home or office. A salesperson can bring the samples and make an in-person call, but that is too expensive in many cases. Only by presenting a product by means of an autonomous vehicle adapted to access interior spaces can products be shown and demonstrated inexpensively in many cases.